The Hives ordered to repay £1.9m ‘loan’ to The Cardigans

The Hives have been ordered to pay The Cardigans £1.8m by a Swedish court.

Billboard reports that the Swedish band have been forced by the district court in Lund, Sweden after a sum the band received turned out to be a loan from The Cardigans, best known for the 1996 hit ‘Lovefool’. Tambourine Studios, based in Malmo in Sweden, represents the finances of both acts and reportedly loaned The Hives the sum from money made by The Cardigans. However, The Hives did not know this was a loan and were under the impression they had made the money themselves.

Reports reveal that the court ruled that the cash must be repaid “since there is no reason… to keep the money that came from The Cardigans”. The Hives have also been forced to pay the plaintiffs’ legal fees following the court case. The Hives have gone on record as saying that they signed “no agreement on the loan, no signed documents, no agreements on interest rates or terms of repayment”. The band are expected to appeal the verdict.

Tambourine Studios are at the centre of a number of financial disputes including separate incidents involving bands such as The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and rapper Timbuktu. BBC News reports that Swedish authorities are also investigating suggestions that artists’ signatures have also been forged.